"You who love the LORD, hate evil! . . . "
In order to properly and authentically love God churchmen must also--at the same time, and with equal intensity--hate everything that He (the Lord) hates. This doctrine, of course, is highly politically-incor-
rect. It is resisted on the left (among liberals), and on the right (among mushy conservatives).
The fact is that a healthy and growing Christian actually both loves and hates at the same time. We are to love Christ and His church wholly. We are to hate evil and idolatry entirely. And we are to both love and hate sinners (at the same time), as we seek to see them won to Jesus. And we are to apply this doctrine fairly, even to ourselves--as we both love our new natures (in Christ), and hate our old ones (that continue to cling to the flesh).
[Puritan quote of the day: "The devil is orthodox in his faith. He be-
lieves the true scheme of doctrine. . . . The articles of his faith are all sound, and in them he is thoroughly established." --Jonathan Ed-
wards, in his sermon entitled, "True Grace Distinguished"]
